In an incident reflecting government apathy, a 24-year-old pregnant woman in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam district was carried by her relatives in a makeshift stretcher made from bedsheets and bamboos, after an ambulance failed to reach their hamlet.
The relatives of the woman, identified as Gamila Limgo, carried her for a distance of 5 km from Anuku hamlet to Gottivada panchayat as the ambulance could only reach till Gottivada.
The incident took place on Friday. The woman was later shifted to the Narsipatnam Primary Health Centre (PHC).
The relatives of the woman had called the 108 emergency ambulance service, but due to poor road connectivity the vehicle could not reach their hamlet and they had to trek till Gottivada with the woman in the makeshift stretcher.
When TNM contacted District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr R Ramesh, he said, “The ambulance couldn’t reach the hamlet as there is no road connection. After she was brought to Gottivada on Friday, she was taken to a hospital at Narsipatnam.”
The woman is said to have given birth to a baby boy at Narsipatnam later on Friday.
“The woman has delivered a child through C-Section. The mother and child are doing well,” Dr Ramesh said.
A pregnant woman was carried for 6 km with the help of bed sheets and bamboo sticks by residents of Anuku village in #Visakhapatnam, after 108 ambulance service couldn't reach her village due to lack of proper road connectivity #AdhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/pjhOENSzIS
— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2018
The incident had many questioning the government about the poor infrastructure and healthcare in the area.
The All India Democratic Women’s Association Vizag Secretary RN Madhavi lashed out at the state government for the lack of infrastructure, saying, “People who are believing that these leaders will solve their problems are fooling themselves.”
Many people also took to social media to share newspaper clippings of the incident and to express their anguish over the poor infrastructure in the area. Many also tweeted to the Andhra IT Minister Nara Lokesh, who also holds the Municipal Administration and Panchayat Raj portfolios.
Despite repeated attempts, TNM failed to get the local Payakaraopeta MLA V Anitha’s response on the incident.